Spike soles customised for victory
By customising the sole units of sprint spikes to match the characteristics of individual athletes, researchers at Loughborough University have been able to maximise the performance of elite runners, doubling the amount of energy they generate at the ankle in a sprint related task.
The research team, based in the Wolfson School of Manufacturing Engineering used Selective Laser Sintering to create personalised outsoles, altering the stiffnesses to suit the specific requirements of individual athletes.
“Sole units of varying stiffness were attached to standard sprint spike uppers and mechanical tests were carried out in order to quantify stiffness”, explained Dan Toon, who conducted the research. “A series of sprint related tasks were performed by elite athletes in sprint shoes of differing stiffness and a barefoot equivalent control shoe. Three-dimensional motion data and force data were collected for each trial in order to quantify performance.”
The three-year study was performed as part of a wider five year, £2 million project funded by the University’s Innovative Manufacturing and Construction Research Centre.
For more information: http://www.lboro.ac.uk/departments/mm/research/rapid-manufacturing/projects/personalised_sports_footwear.html
